The 13 Most-Read Stories of 2013

The year 2013 had its ups – but unfortunately it was the downs that generated the most page views on PEOPLE.com.

From a Glee star's overdose to the year-end car accident that killed a Hollywood heartthrob, the last 12 months produced some unexpected tragedy.

But amid some of the more dramatic news, readers were also interested when a former Dancing with the Stars contestant shed an impressive amount of weight, and an A-lister revealed how another star played a prank that ruined her expensive dress.

Read on to relive 2013 as we countdown to the biggest news story of the year:

Cleveland Kidnapping Rescue

In May, Amanda Berry, Gina DeJesus and Michelle Knight, who vanished a decade ago, were found in a house near downtown Cleveland after Berry managed to make a 911 call. Their kidnapper Ariel Castro died a few months later in his prison cell from possible auto-erotic asphyxiation.

Valerie Harper Is Diagnosed with Terminal Cancer

The beloved TV actress revealed to PEOPLE in March that she was content saying her final goodbyes after doctors told her she had very little time to live. She later went on to compete on DWTS and said she thinks about cancer "less and less."

Miss Kansas's Sgt. Theresa Vail was not only the first contestant in the military to compete in the Miss America pageant since 2007, but when she strutted Boardwalk Hall in her bikini, she broke a long-standing taboo by bearing her two giant tattoos – the insignia for the U.S. Army Dental Corps on her left shoulder and the Serenity Prayer running down her right side.

Sandra Bullock Reveals the Prank George Clooney Played That Ruined Her Dress

Known prankster George Clooney sure pulled a fast one on his Gravity costar Sandra Bullock – an expensive one at that. The actor manipulated Bullock into getting in a pool alone in "a cute dress that I paid a lot of money for," she said, adding that once she got out, "it started disintegrating."

Here Comes Honey Boo Boo Star Mama June Loses Over 100 Lbs.

Mama June Shannon will soon become unredneckognizeable if she sheds as much weight in 2014 as she did this year. The Here Comes Honey Boo Boo matriarch, who lost 100 lbs., claimed she didn't have any surgeries, take pills or go to the gym, but said simply, "With the show I've been more active."

Kate Gosselin's Life After TV

One of the biggest headline-making names in previous years recently drifted from the spotlight – but as numbers proved in August, there was still some interest in the former reality star and her life as a single mom of eight, who admitted to PEOPLE she "made so many mistakes" during her TV days.

Chaz Bono Loses 43 Lbs.

Former DWTS contestant Chaz Bono, who famously struggled with his weight for years, had readers in awe of his determination to shed pounds, kicking off 2013 with a 43-lb. loss. By the time September hit, Cher's son was a total of 70 lbs. lighter, explaining he feels "more comfortable, more confident."

Paul Walker Dies in Car Crash

The second most-read story of the year came at the very end of 2013. Longtime Hollywood heartthrob and star of the Fast & Furious franchise died earlier this month as a result of "traumatic and thermal injuries," following a car accident that also killed his friend Roger Rodas, who was reportedly driving the 90 m.p.h. Porsche that caught on fire in Santa Clarita, Calif.